I have had a 305 about two months. Of the 20 times I have used it , it has got it wrong. Some of the things going on are… breaking runs into laps even though the auto lap is off and I did not hit any buttons. Went for a 10 mile run yesterday did not hit any buttons. The 305 broke the run into 6 laps, some of them were feet. Bike rides loosing milage and doing the lap thing too. Rode the same 110 mile course two times. First time did not do any buttons lost 30 miles of the course. Second time I stopped and started the watch every rest stop, lost 20 miles but at a different part of the course. SO… is it something stupied I am doing, any help would be appreicated. Using the 305 in southern florida
the garmin has an autolap feature which sounds like it might be turned on for you
turn it off?
Make sure you have a good signal before you set out. You might want to turn the autopause off too.
Is it possible that it is loosing the GPS signal somewhere? Are you using with the wheel magnet?
You mentioned that you have turned off the auto lap feature. Be sure that it is turned off for bike and run. Each sport has it’s own options and are set while in that mode. For example, I have auto lap on for running and off when in biking mode. My theory is that you are in run mode all of the time and the auto lap was turned off for biking only. Make sure you are in the correct sport for what you are doing. Also, if the laps are at random distances then the lap button is getting pressed somehow.
Are you losing distance and time? If both, then the stop button is getting pushed. If just distance is lost and the time elapsed is consistent with your actual ride time then it’s a loss of signal as I believe the clock will keep ticking (w/ auto pause off) even though it does not detect your movement. I could be wrong on this, though.
You may have extra sensitive/defective buttons.
Just wanted to thank you for your input. You guided me the right way. 305 is doing what i wanted it to…thanks russ
Super! Glad I could help.
I’ve received a lot of help from ST (directly and indirectly via other’s threads) and I like to contribute when I can.
Question for an ironman and the 305…So here is the plan for using it during an ironman, and the ironman will probaly take 15 hours.
So here is the plan, put the 305 at T1, and use it for the bike and then the run. Assumming the battery will not last, for both the bike and run, are there any ways to save the battery on the bike? Can you just use speed, time and cadence and turn off the GPS, and turn it back on for the run?
Or am I in a situation where the 305 will just be dead before the race is over? Any idea on battery saving ideas?
I have been thinking the same thing. Decided to use at t2 for the run, with the pace the only thing on the screen.
hudson here is my theory.
I’d rather have the mileage availabe for the bike vs the pace for the run, because honestly the run is going to be more about just finishing. So I guess I’m going to be kinda out of luck the last 6-7 miles of the run if i use it on the bike and run in an ironman.
I’d rather know my bike mileage because i know some of the races are really bad iwht marking hte course. most run courses are well marked with every mile or every other mile having some type of markeage.
Ok, so just did IMAZ with a 305. Went just under 13:30. I don’t think the batteries
would have gone another 1.5 hours. I got the “low battery” warning about 15 minutes
out from the finish.
Here was my method:
- On the charger until that morning
- Taken off the charger, turned on when I got to the race.
- Once GPS achieved, turned off.
- Turned on before putting on the bike before the swim. Turned the GPS off.
Setup in multi-sport mode with bike, transition, run. - Grab the bike, head out, hit start.
- Ride for a long time
- Get off the bike, grab Garmin, head to T2. Hit lap.
- Clear T2, hit lap.
- As I’m jogging out, go through the settings to turn gps back on.
- Run a marathon.
I’d guess that’ll get you about 14 hours. Maybe the whole thing if you leave
it on the bike turned off, and turn it on when you start, and monkey with the
settings to turn the gps off as you start your ride.
Good luck. I wouldn’t sweat it too much. They have chip time. I can’t get
TrainingCenter to read my IM anyway. I suspect too many data points.
-Jot
I do not know about other IM races, I will find out this summer. But in hawaii there are mile markers every 5 miles on the bike. Every mile on the run.The number of times I have raced there I can not remember ever looking at my computer on the bike. I just raced the way I feel. Yes the run is a big mine game. I have noticed since I got the 305 it was alot easier to maintain a certain speed looking at the pace screen. It is very hard to tell what you are doing on the run after racing 8 hours or more. I have figured out the pace I want to run. My goal is always not to walk …any. I think this will help.
I used my 305 for IMLP and went 11:15. I did not swim with it and it was off sitting on my bike for T1. The trouble with that is that you have to put it on, turn it on, let it acquire satellites, and then hit the start button all while dealing with the stress of doing the Ironman in the first place. You should practice this move a bit before trying it race day. I find that my Garmin’s batteries will last anywhere from 10 to 11 hours (I’ve had it a couple of years) and I’ll get a low battery signal at about 8 hours (so it’s usually good for another three hours after the low battery indicates).
The best way for you to determine how long your 305 will last is to charge it up and let it run down. You can turn the sound off because that uses power. Good luck with your race.
Here has been my garmin 305 protocol for 2 different IMS:
a) charge the garmin overnight pre race. Battery is hugely sensitive to “Age of charge”
b) leave it on bike, turned on, in bike mode, with autopause on. Turn it on right before walking to swim
c) bike and then run with it
for 2x races (finished 11:20 and 10:17) hasnt run out of batteries. If it does run out of batteries with a few miles to go- who cares- i mean you are not pace-centric in last 6 miles, you are “not dying” centric.
I think the KEY for this protocol is to charge it up all night on the last night.
A bit off topic but what did you change to knock over an hour off of your time?
Check out the first page of this thread for a neat USB-based charger for the Edge 305 and cradle for the Forerunner 305. I bet you could have this all set up on the bike and then it would have plenty of charge for even a stumbling 6 hour marathon shuffle!
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=2205406;#2205406
two things-
a) different courses- IM france was the first one, and IM arizona the second -so the bike leg on AZ is probably 30 mins faster.
b) one more year of training- was my first serious season vs 2nd serious season
Question about the 305.
How or where is the warranty info. I just got my Garmin 305, and I have no idea where the warranty info is. Do I need to send any info into Garmin to get the warranty info, or just wait until something happens and then contact Garmin?
just wait until something happens- you dont have to register it or anything.
While i have found their products solid, but not 100%, i have been consistenly impressed by their warranty/support
In other news- be sure to download the “garmin webupdater” to make sure your 305 has the latest most updated firmware- it makes a noticeable difference, depending on the version you start with.
Also- definetly worth ditching the standard garmin software- and using “WKO” instead (google it), its much better.
N
You can register it online. Not sure if you have to… but I would.
I had a Forerunner 305 pop off the bike adapter and it got lost… they replaced it under warranty for $99. The unit and the bike adapter. I still stop by the area where it popped off convinced I will find it… haven’t yet. It has popped off on 3 occasions. First two were in races where the first time I found it on the course later that day, and the second time i found it in lost and found (happened right at the start of the bike). The last time was in training, and it is still no where to be found.